Response to Congo Ebola outbreak faces shortfall of aid support

by · UPI

May 29 (UPI) -- The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading by the day and a shortfall in aid funding combined with misinformation and cultural issues in the affected communities is putting healthcare responders at a disadvantage.

Dr. Amadou Bocoum, country director for the nonprofit organization CARE, told UPI the health system in the DRC is struggling to combat the outbreak of Ebola due to lacking resources. The withdrawal of funding from the United States last year is at least one of the key contributing factors.

"Since the reduction of funding by donors, especially the U.S. government and other donors also followed, the health system is not really functioning well," Bocoum said. "When the outbreak of Ebola came, the main issues are a lack of personal protective equipment. The main issue is about funding, lacking kits for laboratories to test and the hygienic kits, masks and soap."

CARE delivers aid to regions facing poverty, hunger and barriers to healthcare access. It has a presence in more than 20 countries in Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Related

Bocoum said the organization has lost $8.6 million in support in the DRC from the drawdown of humanitarian aid, largely from the U.S. government. This represents 26% of its budget. To sustain through the lost funding, CARE reduced its staff by a third, cutting 36 staff members.

With the reduction of funding and staff, CARE has also had to reduce its services.

The U.S. government began withdrawing resources from global humanitarian aid networks early last year in one of the Trump administration's first key missions to reduce government spending. It dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development which worked with humanitarian organizations around the globe.

Congress followed suit, rescinding more than $8 billion in congressionally approved funds for USAID.

"We had a draw down of support in terms of the supply of medicines that we use to really keep supporting all of the health centers," Bocoum said. "We've also reduced significantly our support for outreach of the health center because as a humanitarian organization we work a lot on doing community outreach activities."

Those outreach activities are crucial to spreading education and information in the communities about public health issues and ways to stay safe.

Outreach and education are among the greatest needs in combatting the Ebola outbreak as Bocoum notes misinformation has sowed doubt about the legitimacy and dangers associated with the virus.

"Communities are really resistant to the message," Bocoum said. "Sometimes they don't believe Ebola is really real because of some rumor or false information, so that makes also our work very difficult. Because we cannot assist them to explain to them how people can catch the virus and where they should be able to go to get the assistance."

"Rumors also cannot be controlled if people don't really understand all of the information around Ebola," he continued. "For that, we need culturally appropriate means of communicating to get clear and transparent communication to the community. There is no message so far."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 906 suspected cases of Ebola Bundibugyo infection in the DRC and 125 confirmed cases. There have been 223 suspected deaths and 17 confirmed deaths in the DRC and seven confirmed cases and one confirmed death in neighboring Uganda.

A key reason that more cases have not been confirmed is a lack of laboratory kits to test for infection, Bocoum said.

Fighting in the region between the DRC government and rebel groups has also made it difficult for health workers to respond to the outbreak. World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week that a "catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" is working against the outbreak response.

"We cannot build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling," Ghebreyesus said.

Bocoum echoed this sentiment, telling UPI that CARE is struggling to access the communities. CARE's regional office is in Goma, DRC. Normally it would take CARE's workers about four hours to reach Beni, DRC, in the North Kivu province, which is west of the Ituri province where the outbreak is largely taking place.

Due to the fighting, transportation from Goma to Beni takes nearly 24 hours as workers must make their way through neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

To speed up the response to crises like this, CARE typically positions resources so they are accessible in more remote locations. It is also unable to do this right now because of fighting and funding constraints.

"Now, with those lack of resources we are no longer able to position those items with access, the issue is very difficult to be able to assist," Bocoum said.

Without adequate hygiene kits and testing, the affected communities need to be vigilant about limiting direct contact with infected individuals. Ebola can spread through contact with bodily fluids, including those left on surfaces. Hygiene is critical.

Precautions are also necessary when handling the bodies of those who have died from Ebola infection as they still carry the disease and can spread it. Dignified burials present risks but burying of the dead is also important to limit the presence of potential Ebola carriers.

CARE does community infection surveillance which assists community members and leaders in identifying the first signs of Ebola infection and properly reporting to the public health center so further measures can be put in place.

Some of the first signs of Ebola infection include fever, severe headache, weakness, fatigue, sore throat, and aches and pains in muscles and joints. As the infection worsens, symptoms like loss of appetite, unexplained bleeding and gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea start to appear.

Ebola symptoms can appear up to 21 days after coming in contact with the virus.

There is no vaccine for the current strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo strain.

"For now it is contained to the eastern part of the Congo," Bocoum said. "Imagine it arrived to Kinshasa, a city of more than 15 million people. We need really to be able to contain that and make sure that we really prevent and assist the community to not get more infected. I think it can be done but people need to react very soon. We don't need a huge amount of money at one go but small drop and small drop to really help to control."

Historic May moments through the years

Wreathes are seen amongst the statues at the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend in Washington on May 27, 2023. Memorial Day, which honors U.S. military personnel who died while in service, is held on the last Monday of May. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo